Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Measured against area pay, Crystal City costs less to live in than 92% of U.S. towns
It ranks #23 of 247 in Missouri for affordability. Up 3.4% in a year, 14% below the Missouri typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the St. Louis metro earn ($80K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 2.3 years of metro income, and 33% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $228Ktypical home, 14% below the Missouri typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,070a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the St. Louis metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 79)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.3 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$80K, St. Louis-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 33%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Missouri: 46%Census 2020–24
- 10%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Crystal City’s housing numbers say
Most homes are under contract within two weeks
In May, 44% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 67% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 0.7 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 2.1 across Missouri: 6 listings for 9 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
Rent is easier on renters here
33% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 46% across Missouri. A standard two-bedroom is 18% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Crystal City’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Crystal City is more affordable than 92% of U.S. towns, #23 of 247 in Missouri. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Missouri: up 30.2% in five years, against 26.3% statewide (Zillow).
Up 30.2% in five years
Faster than Missouri (26.3%).
Show as a table
| January | Crystal City | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $131,000 | $147,000 |
| 2018 | $135,000 | $155,000 |
| 2019 | $139,000 | $163,000 |
| 2020 | $146,000 | $171,000 |
| 2021 | $160,000 | $191,000 |
| 2022 | $179,000 | $217,000 |
| 2023 | $189,000 | $234,000 |
| 2024 | $207,000 | $245,000 |
| 2025 | $215,000 | $255,000 |
| 2026 | $225,000 | $260,000 |
| September 2026 | $228,000 | $265,000 |
A typical Crystal City home worth $127K in October 2016 is worth about $228K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 9 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 2.3 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Crystal City’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Crystal City home, with $92K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,070 a month here, $260 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Crystal City’s typical property tax (0.71% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,070
Renters already here pay a median of $1,062.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
2 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 2 new homes in Crystal City in 2025, all single-family houses. That's 0.4 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Missouri (3.7). Over the past 10 years, Crystal City has permitted 24 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Crystal City's population fell by 115 even though 13 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Missouri: 1.1 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1 | 1 | 0 | $75,000 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $263,000 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $490,000 |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $420,000 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $679,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $156,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $255,000 |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $455,000 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $80,000 |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $310,000 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $100,000 |
| 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $170,000 |
| 2008 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $540,000 |
| 2007 | 12 | 4 | 8 | $641,000 |
| 2006 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| 2005 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| 2004 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2003 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2002 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2001 | 44 | 44 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2000 | 59 | 59 | 0 | $3.7 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Missouri norm
The median bill is $1,323 (Missouri: $1,948), 0.71% of a home’s value a year, against 0.85% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Crystal City
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, or Missouri. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 95 | MO 91 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | MO 96 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 70 | MO 79 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | MO 95 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Crystal City vs. its neighbors
Of the 3 towns here with a Zillow value, Crystal City has the lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal City | A | $228K | $186K | 0.71% | $1,070 |
| Festus | A− | $303K | $224K | 0.68% | $1,070 |
| Herculaneum | B | $300K | $234K | 0.91% | $1,720 |
Questions about the cost of living in Crystal City
Is Crystal City expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Crystal City costs less than 92% of U.S. towns: an A for cost of living, #23 of 247 in Missouri. The typical home costs 2.3 years of the median household income of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K).
How much does a house cost in Crystal City?
About $228K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 3.4% in a year. The Missouri typical home is $265K.
What salary do you need to live in Crystal City?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $57,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $1,330 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $43,000.
How much is rent in Crystal City?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,070 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,062 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Crystal City?
The median bill is $1,323 a year, 0.71% of the median home value (Missouri: $1,948, 0.85%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Crystal City going up?
Yes: up 3.4% in the past year and 30.2% in five years, against 26.3% across Missouri (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Crystal City buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.